Yesterday was a kick in the pants. Wes had been up at the feedlot until about 2 pm. He came down to the shop to work on a tractor and then before coming in for a supper of fried fish he headed back up to check on the heifers that will be calving soon. In the time he was gone a heifer laid down at the bottom of a mound within the pen with her feet uphill. This resulted in her not being able to get up and consequently she died.
She was about 3 weeks away from giving birth. So, we lose the heifer and the calf. Three months ago we could have sold her for $1250. After two years of feed and the normal course of vaccine/meds she dies with us recovering nothing out of her.
It is always crappy to have an animal die, but heifers are some of the hardest ones to deal with because they have the most money invested without any income derived yet to offset that cost.
And it sucks for the rancher that was away from the pen for only a few hours when it all went down.
Home Sweet Home! by The Pioneer Woman
6 years ago
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